Electronic devices such as microprocessors, graphics processors, accelerated processing units or other electronic circuits may dissipate large amounts of heat when operating. The electronic devices are sometimes placed in sockets which are then soldered to substrates such as circuit boards. Heat sinks are then placed in thermal contact with outer surfaces of the device (such as the outer surface of the package) to draw heat away from the electronic device. Fans may also be employed as well in an attempt to keep the heat dissipating device cool.
Heat sink attachment pins also referred to as connector pins are often used to attach the heat sink to the substrate when it is placed on top of or under the electronic device. Some heat sink connector pins include push pin designs that are effectively two piece designs that use a rod that is pushed through a hole down the center of the pin to push finger like push mechanisms in the through-hole of the substrate to mechanically engage with the interior of the through-hole. The separate locking rod or pin holds open the push fingers which form an engagement with the interior of the through-hole of the substrate. Push pins however can be manually intensive to insert and can be difficult to remove. Other designs may include single pieces of plastic that have a pin head and angled tip (arrow head) with barbs along with a spring placed around a shaft of the pin in an effort to provide downward force to keep the heat sink pressed against the electronic device. The angled tip is forced into the through-hole causing deformation of the tip and the barb is forced through the hole. The barb then expands after being forced through the through-hole and the pin is then fixedly engaged in the hole. Such designs can require unnecessary amounts of force to insert the pin and are also typically not removable. Problems also arise where the electronic device is fragile and forcing the angled tip through the hole of the substrate can unnecessarily cause damage to the electronic device and substrate. Also, to remove some pins, both the top and underside of the substrate have to be made accessible as such a machine or dissembler has to have access to both the top of the substrate and the bottom of the substrate.
Other through-hole attachment mechanisms include a screw and a bolt combination that is screwed into a back plate or retention frame.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an improved heat sink connector pin that overcomes one or more of the above problems.